COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC/AP) – Embattled South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis issued a statement confirming that the state’s inspector general is investigating his office, which he welcomed.
Loftis said he met with Inspector General Brian Lamkin and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel after the March 27 Senate Finance Constitutional Subcommittee, a move he described as “proactive.”
He said he expressed “a willingness to have them thoroughly investigate the State Treasurer’s Office” about a $1.8 billion accounting discrepancy.
“Despite claims by Sen. (Larry) Grooms, our office has fully cooperated with all state agency partners and independent audit firms since this matter surfaced, stemming from the former comptroller general’s $3.5 billion restatement in the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,” Loftis said.
State senators voted 33-8 on April 21 to remove Loftis from office over the account error after Grooms, a Republican who represents Berkeley County, introduced a resolution calling for Loftis’ ouster earlier in the month.
Grooms introduced the resolution in the wake of a $1.8 accounting mistake that an independent report released in January blamed on the state’s conversion from one accounting system to another. The report stated the bulk of the mysterious $1.8 billion — about $1.6 billion — never existed; the remaining $200 million did exist but had been spent by lawmakers and never removed from the books.
The report found the state’s treasurer, comptroller general, and auditor all knew about it, but the error did not come to lawmakers’ attention until late 2022 and had remained on state financial reports.
Former State Auditor George Kennedy stepped down in January. Former Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom quit in 2023 amid pressure from lawmakers.
Loftis has called the Senate investigation a witch hunt. He repeatedly said no money went missing and the errors were not made in his office, although others have testified differently. The treasurer said continuing to focus on the mistakes threatens the state’s strong credit rating.
But removing a statewide elected official from office in South Carolina requires two-thirds of members in both the Senate and House to vote for it.
“We voted tonight to remove the treasurer because he did not do his duty,” Grooms, the chair of the Senate Finance subcommittee that spearheaded the investigation, said after the April 21 vote. “We did our duty, and I think it’s up to the House to do their duty.”
“I’d say to the House, watch the evidence,” Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, R – Georgetown and a member of Grooms’ subcommittee, told reporters that same evening. “And if they watch our hearing today, they’ll see evidence that shows the treasurer’s responsible.”
But the Republican-dominated House decided against taking up a resolution to remove Loftis, with House Speaker Murrell Smith, R – Sumter, saying there just isn’t enough time to take it up before the session ends on May 8.
That means Loftis is likely to remain in office for at least the rest of the year and leaves him open to run for a fifth four-year term in 2026. One of his arguments to stay in office was it wasn’t fair to overturn the results of an election.
This is the first year of a two-year session, so the resolution to dump Loftis, which is currently in a House committee, will stay alive when lawmakers return to Columbia in 2026.
Filing for office starts next March with the Republican primary for treasurer, governor and other statewide offices happening in June.
Copyright 2025 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.
发表回复